“He only told my dad,” Max said, sensing the betrayal I felt. “He knows my uncle is a lawyer and wanted to see if there was any way to help you and Kevin without getting social services involved.”
I gasped at the thought of the Department of Children and Families getting involved.
“It’s fine,” Max said, patting my knee. “Old Man Wither made my dad and uncle promise not to do anything. He knows you don’t want to lose Kevin, and he seems to really care about you two a lot.”
“He’s definitely a cool guy,” I said, relieved that he had stuck to his word. “I feel awful that he and his wife never had kids. I think it’s ironic how people that want children so badly are denied, but those that should have never been able to reproduce have no problem doing it.”
“I agree, it’s messed up. I definitely hate your mom, but I can’t help wondering if I would have met you now if she wasn’t so wacked-out.”
“I thought you believe in fate,” I said laughing, trying to steer the conversation away from the doom and gloom I had dragged it into.
“Oh, believe me, I do. I’m just saying, how much would it suck to have to wait several more years to meet the woman I love?”
“Hmmm, I like the sound of that,” I said, laying my head on his shoulder as we neared the city.
Max deftly maneuvered the SUV through the streets that seemed insanely congested after the limited traffic we were used to. After a few moments, he pulled into a parking spot in front of a large glass and brick building. A sign off to the side welcomed us to the Bozeman Public Library.
“We’re going to the library?” I asked excitedly.
“Yeah, I remember you mentioning once that the happiest moments of your life were spent in libraries with all the books. I just figured I wanted in on the happiest moments of your life too,” he said, lacing his fingers through mine.
I paused in the middle of the sidewalk as a light snow began to fall on us. “Silly boy, you surpassed those memories long ago,” I said, placing my cold lips on his.
“So you mean this’ll be like a grand slam?” He gently teased, leading me out of the cold into the warm interior of the building.
I laughed. “Most definitely,” I said, taking in my surroundings. “I wish we could get a library card,” I added wistfully, looking at the endless rows of books. “I know I have my Kindle, but look at all these books,” I said, sweeping out my arms to indicate the overflowing shelves.
“Yeah, the commute makes that tough, but are you ready for part two of your Valentine’s Day surprise?”
“Part two? How many parts are there?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he said, giving my bottom a light pat as we headed toward the back of the library where several rooms lined the far wall. He steered me toward one that had a sign proclaiming used books for sale. “I bought you a twenty-dollar gift card and each book is only fifty cents, so let’s see what kind of damage you can do,” he said, winking at me.
“I get to pick out forty books?” I laughed, feeling giddy as I headed toward my favorite genre. “It’ll be a shame to leave them behind when I move, but…” I said, letting my voice trail off at the now sour look on his face. He hated when I mentioned the pending move, but I wanted to keep us firmly rooted in reality. We had already stayed in Four Corners longer than any other place, and the ticking eviction clock was already at the halfway mark.
“You won’t have to leave them behind,” he said stubbornly.
“Okay,” I said, trying to appease him so I wouldn’t ruin the perfect date he had planned. I knew there was still a remote possibility that we would get to stay since Mr. Graves was still diligently trying to cut through the red tape to become a temporary foster parent.
Max let the subject drop and after a few moments of silence he got into the game of trying to help me fill my quota of books.
“How about this one?” he asked, holding up yet another sci-fi book.
“Ha ha, you’re such a crack-up,” I said, socking his arm lightly.
“What?” he asked, feigning innocence.
“If it doesn’t have hot guys and kissing, I’m out,” I said teasingly.
“What hot guys?” He mock growled, making a grab for me.
“You know, tall, dreamy, dark hair, drop-dead gorgeous eyes and...” my words were cutoff as his lips claimed mine. “And dimples that make your toes curl,” I added breathlessly.
“Hmmm, toes curl, that’s hot,” he said, nipping on the corner of my mouth. “How many books are you up to?”
I looked down at the stacks of books around our ankles. “I think I’m two away,” I said, grabbing two random books from the shelf as he distracted me by gently blowing on the hair at the back of my neck. “You’re going to get us kicked out,” I added, shooting a look at the elderly gentleman who was manning the small register by the door.
“You mean to tell me all those times you spent in the library over the years you never thought about making out?” he whispered in my ear as his teeth grazed the lobe.